[From article]
The BDS movement — named for its call for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel — began as an idea by 170 Palestinian civil society groups worldwide in 2005. It has grown into a worldwide network of thousands of volunteers lobbying corporations, artists and academic institutions to sever ties with Israel.
[. . .]
Its members include campus activists, church groups and even liberal American Jews disillusioned by Israeli policies.
Most worrying for Israel, some of the group's core positions toward products made in West Bank settlements are starting to be embraced by European governments. Although the EU says it opposes boycotts of Israel, it is exploring guidelines for labeling settlement products, which many in Israel fear could be a precursor to a full-fledged ban.[. . .]
The BDS movement has three goals: to end Israel's occupation of territories captured in the 1967 Mideast war, to end discrimination suffered by Arab citizens of Israel, and to promote the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to family properties lost in the war surrounding Israel's creation in 1948.
For Israel, this last position is nothing less than a call for its destruction. Israel opposes the Palestinian "right of return," saying a massive influx of refugees would mean the end of the country as a Jewish state. The international community favors a "two-state solution" creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel, and even Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has indicated willingness to compromise on the refugee issue under a final peace deal.
[. . .]
Israeli leaders consider the movement to be the latest in a history of antagonists out to destroy the Jewish people.
"We are in the midst of a great struggle being waged against the state of Israel, an international campaign to blacken its name," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently. "It is not connected to our actions. It is connected to our very existence."
[. . .]
Battles have taken place in U.S. food co-ops and city councils. The movement has helped organize several boycotts by U.S. and British academic unions and has made inroads on American campuses. Roughly a dozen student governments have approved divestment proposals.
[. . .]
The idea of boycotts is extremely sensitive in Israel. The Nazis launched a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses and artists — often accompanied by acts of violence and anti-Semitic slogans — in the 1930s Germany ahead of the Holocaust. In the 1970s and 1980s, Arab countries pressured companies doing business with them to shun Israel. Currently, Israel is fending off attempts by the boycotters to compare Israeli policies in the West Bank to South African apartheid.
"The attacks on the Jews were always preceded by the slander of the Jews," Netanyahu recently said.
[. . .]
BDS activists deny being fueled by anti-Semitism, saying their battle is against Israel, not Jews.
[Israel is a Jewish state created as a refuge for Jews from thousands of years of anti semitism, and especially after the Holocaust. Opposing a sanctuary for Jews is anti semitic.]
[. . .]
"It's not about destroying Israel," [Naomi Dann] said. "But full equal rights and a democratic society are more important than preserving the Jewish character of the state."
[There it is these people oppose the existence of Israel.]
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150707/ml--israel-boycott_scare-f01a1f9287.html
Boycott Israel drive gains strength, raising alarm
Jul 7, 6:24 AM (ET)
By TIA GOLDENBERG
AP
"We are in the midst of a great struggle being waged against the state of Israel, an international campaign to blacken its name," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said recently. "It is not connected to our actions. It is connected to our very existence."
[. . .]
Battles have taken place in U.S. food co-ops and city councils. The movement has helped organize several boycotts by U.S. and British academic unions and has made inroads on American campuses. Roughly a dozen student governments have approved divestment proposals.
[. . .]
The idea of boycotts is extremely sensitive in Israel. The Nazis launched a nationwide boycott of Jewish businesses and artists — often accompanied by acts of violence and anti-Semitic slogans — in the 1930s Germany ahead of the Holocaust. In the 1970s and 1980s, Arab countries pressured companies doing business with them to shun Israel. Currently, Israel is fending off attempts by the boycotters to compare Israeli policies in the West Bank to South African apartheid.
"The attacks on the Jews were always preceded by the slander of the Jews," Netanyahu recently said.
[. . .]
BDS activists deny being fueled by anti-Semitism, saying their battle is against Israel, not Jews.
[Israel is a Jewish state created as a refuge for Jews from thousands of years of anti semitism, and especially after the Holocaust. Opposing a sanctuary for Jews is anti semitic.]
[. . .]
"It's not about destroying Israel," [Naomi Dann] said. "But full equal rights and a democratic society are more important than preserving the Jewish character of the state."
[There it is these people oppose the existence of Israel.]
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150707/ml--israel-boycott_scare-f01a1f9287.html
Boycott Israel drive gains strength, raising alarm
Jul 7, 6:24 AM (ET)
By TIA GOLDENBERG
AP
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